Kristen Stewart in ‘Camp X-Ray,’ which will play at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.

Beth Dubber/Sundance

The Sundance Institute marks the 30th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival next month, and festival directors John Cooper and Trevor Groth stopped by the WSJ to discuss how the event, and independent film, have evolved over the years.

“We’re seeing a lot of new creative spirit. We’re seeing an excellence in filmmaking,” said Cooper, the director of the Sundance Film Festival.

Trevor Groth, the festival’s programming director, added that “the films now have a more complete vision. Filmmakers have the tools now to tell their whole stories.”

Cooper and Groth also described some of the films that were selected for the 2014 dramatic competition category, including “Camp X-Ray” starring Kristen Stewart, and actor John Slattery’s (“Mad Men”) directorial debut, “God’s Pocket.”